Shloka 11
च्यवन-कुशिक-संवादः
Cyavana–Kuśika Dialogue on Hospitality, Service, and Lineage Questions
ब्राह्माण्यां लक्ष्यते सूत इत्येतेडपसदा: स्मृता: । पुत्रा होते न शक््यन्ते मिथ्याकर्तु नराधिप
bhīṣma uvāca | brāhmaṇyāṃ lakṣyate sūta ity ete ’pasadāḥ smṛtāḥ | putrā hote na śakyante mithyākartuṃ narādhipa ||
Bhīṣma said: “From a Brāhmaṇa woman is recognized the offspring called ‘Sūta’; such are remembered as ‘apasada’ births. O king, these sons cannot be dismissed as unreal or falsely asserted.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma affirms that traditional dharma classifications regarding certain mixed-varṇa births (here, the category ‘Sūta’ and related ‘apasada’ designations) are treated as established social realities in the normative discourse and are not to be dismissed as mere falsehood.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma and social categories, Bhīṣma addresses the king and explains how certain offspring are identified and named within the traditional framework, emphasizing that these categories are recognized in the received teachings.